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Incisive commentary from RAP experts
RAP experts keep their finger on the pulse of the energy sector and provide timely analysis of topics impacting stakeholders TODAY.
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Synchronizing the Electric Regulatory Response to COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis is influencing every aspect of the global economy, and electric utilities are certainly seeing significant impacts. Before utility regulators take actions to adjust revenues or rates to reflect COVID-19 impacts, it is important to identify and quantify… View Summary +
Connecting Cities to the PUC Process
As municipal policymakers take increasingly active roles in moving their cities through the energy transition, they need to know their way around their states’ utility regulatory landscape. RAP and our partners at the Building Electrification Initiative (BEI) tackled this… View Summary +
In a Time of Transition, Regulators Can Drive Cutting-Edge Cost Allocation Reform
The need for change in how we measure the cost of providing electric service by customer class is obvious to any attentive observer of the dramatic changes now underway in the electric utility industry. Electric Cost Allocation for a… View Summary +
Striking the Balance in Energy Efficiency Regulation Between Utility Incentives and Customer Costs
As Americans continue to face rising affordability challenges and struggle to pay their utility bills, consumer advocates are understandably concerned about keeping bills as low as possible. Energy efficiency is the lowest-cost resource and provides customers with the opportunity to… View Summary +
Revisiting the Public Good, Part 2: What Do We Mean by “Good”?
Simple terms can provide a useful framework and help us understand complex things. Raising children, for example, is a highly involved, lengthy and expensive undertaking, but can be reduced to a couple of words: You want your kids to grow… View Summary +
Use Less, Save More: Adding a Conservation Incentive to Percentage of Income Payment Programs
For low-income households, being able to afford utility service is a constant struggle. The average American household spends 2-3% of its income on its energy bills, but for a low-income family, the energy burden can be more like 15-20% (or… View Summary +
Participating in Power: A Practical Guide to Utility Resource Plans for Local Governments
To meet 21st century decarbonization and social equity priorities, utilities need to transform the way they plan power sector investments. One of the most important opportunities to encourage these changes is to become an effective participant in the development of… View Summary +
An Escape from the “Jaws of Delusion”: Planning for the End of Cheap Gas
In 2013, Marty Kushler, senior fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), gave a presentation in Chicago on gas efficiency programs. He argued that one should not make decisions about programs with lengthy multi-year effects based on… View Summary +
Beneficial Electrification: A Growth Opportunity
In the first blog post in this series, we observed that rapid power sector transformation presents challenges but also opportunities for utilities. As older, inflexible resources are retired, cleaner, more distributed resources are being deployed by companies and customers… View Summary +
Customizing Decoupling for Your State
Since its formation over a hundred years ago, the electric utility industry in the United States, and the regulatory framework that governs it, has traditionally operated under the core principle that if you sell more electrons, you earn more money. View Summary +
